But the penalties are ultimately meaningless following a rule change which means the maximum sanction is to go to the back of the grid, with only 20 cars currently lining up in F1.

The McLaren pair qualified in 17th and 18th so the punishment will actually only see them drop a couple of places each.

(Image: Mark Thompson)

Honda has struggled for reliability on their return to the sport but they have produced upgraded engines for this race.

"We ran two new engines yesterday, to put new engines in the pool, and then we changed the engines last night because we knew we were going to take a penalty," McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale told Sky.

(Image: Lars Baron)

"Under the existing regulations we're entitled to take another two (units) and get them in the pool, so if we're going to take some pain then we'll take it here rather than have some further problems down the line.

"I'm not suggesting we're completely out of the woods, but (it works) in terms of a strategy to get more engines in the pool to give us a clearer run."